A Helensburgh campaigner and social justice warrior has been recognised with an honorary doctorate for her work.

Polly Jones was presented with a Doctor of the University (DUniv) for more than 20 years fighting for a better world at home and abroad.

The University of Glasgow conferred the degree last week during the graduation ceremony for its School of Social and Political Sciences, and the now Dr Jones said she was "honoured" to be amongst the students that day.

In their opening remarks for why the presentation, the university said Polly had spent more than 20 years "fighting against poverty and inequality, working to improve the lives of disadvantages communities in the UK and overseas".

The 47-year-old serves on Helensburgh Community Council, ran the Save Our Shop campaign in Churchill, and plays in a local orchestra.

She studied social and political studies at the University of Sheffield, before specialising in an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

She became international officer at the Unison trade union, with whom she managed an HIV/Aids project involving 30 trade unions in 11 countries.

(Image: University of Glasgow)

Her work with Unison brought her to Scotland, where she helped coordinate the 250,000-strong 2005 march in Edinburgh for Make Poverty History.

The mum of three then became head of campaigns and policy at the World Development Movement, which is now called Global Justice Now. There she worked with other organisations, unions, academics and faith groups.

She relocated to Scotland in 2017 and has since been a "leading figure in the Scottish policy world with a consistent focus on advocacy, campaigning and shaping policy change", said the university.

Polly has been a project manager for Oxfam's Menu for Change project to reduce the need for emergency food aid, and a policy officer at the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

She is now head of Scotland for the Trussell Trust.

Even as the need for food banks continues to rise in Scotland and the UK, she remains driven to find the change to end that.

The university told graduates: "Polly’s commitment to this mission is evident in the roles she has accomplished throughout her career.

"The vision to eliminate structural food poverty in the UK is achievable through policy change and a commitment to understanding how society shapes the living and working conditions of our most disadvantaged members.

Polly Jones with University of Glasgow chancellor and Olympian Katherine GraingerPolly Jones with University of Glasgow chancellor and Olympian Katherine Grainger (Image: University of Glasgow)

"What is perhaps eye opening is that this poverty is not ‘somewhere else’. It is here. In Scotland. In Glasgow. In our neighbourhoods, our communities and here in our university.

"Like many of the scholars and students in the College of Social Sciences, Polly has shown throughout her career that she is not willing to ‘look away’ from these inequalities but has chosen to fight to change the circumstances that create them.

"She embodies the values of compassion, justice, community and dignity that are fundamental both to the organisation she leads and to the University of Glasgow."

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, told the Advertiser: “Throughout her career, Polly Jones has made an outstanding contribution to public life. At the Trussell Trust she plays a vital role in working towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

“We are thrilled that her lifetime of effort and skill has been recognised by the University of Glasgow with the awarding of an honorary doctorate.”

In May, Polly was elected as a vice convener of Helensburgh Community Council where she has been an active member campaigning for a community use for the town's waterfront, restoration of the pier and much more.

After being honoured with the doctorate, Polly told graduates she felt "slightly uneasy", thinking that "things like this are not for the likes of me".

(Image: University of Glasgow)

But she said she was honoured to be with graduates who had, like her, "took an educational path that focuses on humanity and social beings".

The campaigner said: "When I left university, I knew that I didn’t want to work ‘for the man’, for corporations or government, not because I had a particularly robust ideological reason for this, but I had a strong sense that I wanted to work with people, collectively, who were dealing with the sharp end of the problems but whose voices frequently went unheard.

"For over 25 years, I’ve worked for campaigning organisations, charities, and trade unions. It has been a privilege.

"It is a path that has taken me around the world, but it has also allowed me to work deep within communities here in Scotland.

"Whether it has been the impact of trade treaties on people living in the global South, or the effect of social security policy on people living in South Lanarkshire, our organisations have tried to find ways of explaining complexities so that others can understand, and then care about, and then take action."

She continued: "The issues facing us are immense: the spectre of war, the climate emergency, poverty, discrimination, to name a few.

"With your knowledge, your research skills and your ability to communicate, you can help tackle these problems and argue for change.

"Our civic sector needs these, but we also need your ideas and your energy. If you are passionate about an issue, don’t put it aside, pursue it.

"Those of us who dream of a better world are often portrayed as idealistic and naïve.

"Nonsense. Poverty is not inevitable, it is not an act of God, it is the culmination of decisions made by people.

"And the decisions that have been made can be changed, but only if we have the collective will."

She thanked the university for the honour and concluded: "As I leave this hall, alongside so many bright and clever people, I’ll be recalling an undergraduate philosophy course where I read that our job is not only to interpret and understand the world, but to help change it. I’m sure you will."